The topic came up on another board, aptly titled "The Drunken Stupidity of Tamon Yamaguchi" - admittedly, a bit harsh, at least you would think at first, but .....
If you have ever seen the movie Midway, you might remember him as the guy on Hiryu who is urging Nagumo to launch an attack at once, never mind how and what is armed. Yeah. It should be noted, that when he was busy sending that signal, his boss was just dusting off another attack , and even if some aircraft in the hangars were armed, they needed 45 minutes to spot that. Which, while gyrating around dodging sundry attacks which were increasing in frequency and number, would make spotting difficult if not impossible. Plus the teeny problem with having to cycle the CAP up and down to fend off these attacks. It was a signal not worth replying to, never mind listening to. 'Ole Tamon, it must be remembered, was the fool who when told that there could be a problem with the range of Hiryu and Soryu in the Hawaiian operation, suggested they be abandoned off the Hawaiian Islands after launching their aircraft. And this was not a drunken ha ha, funny joke sort of suggestion.
Now, I did not in any means there try to defend the buffoon, but I did point out he was not alone in being a moron. It's all well and good for propaganda clips to stand on the bow of your ship, waving your sword while screaming "Wah!" charging the enemy. But it is NOT the sort of behavior and thinking one can have as a professional naval officer, ESPECIALLY one of flag rank. Nagumo, was not exactly the master tactician himself. Not well versed in aviation, he tended to hand off much of things to his staff, mostly Minuro Genda, a brilliant (and arrogant) aviator. This made him not as quick to make decisions, once it became apparent that the master plan from dear Admiral Yamamoto was a complete pile of crap that needed canned and changed based on the existing circumstances. But to do so would mean defying orders. And appearing indecisive to his staff, losing face. And anyone that knows anything about the Japanese, knows that he'd sooner commit seppuku than THAT. Compounding this, once Kido Butai was gutted with Kaga, Soryu, and his own Flagship Akagi in flames, he had to be urged to transfer the flag. But when he did eventually comply, he wasted no time in forming up, and making signals to the effect that the formation should "prepare for surface battle. We shall engage the enemy in a night torpedo attack in the tradition of the Imperial Navy.." Now, by trade, he was a torpedo guy. And under stress, most people revert to type. But , he had just had his carriers ass-raped by Naval Aviation. And he is seriously expecting the US Task Force to just sit around twiddling it's thumbs while he charges ahead and does his thing? This is not the decision of a rational man. Hiryu deviated to the east briefly into the wind to launch her strike, but then formed up and charged NE after the rest of the formation. Closing the range. At this point, Hiryu, the only surviving large carrier in the force, should have been treated as a priceless, IRREPLACEABLE asset. Breaking off to the NW would have been better, and still been able to recover her planes. Charging right at the Americans, was plain stupid, and only solving THEIR problem of having shorter-ranged aircraft. And 6 hours later, they paid the price for that. CarDiv 2, had been more or less operating independently since around 1000 -- with Nagumo planning a surface battle, Yamaguchi was not only in de facto but de jure command of the only carrier unit left. He had no logical reason to form up and chase after Nagumo. Of all the dumb things he did, this one was the most costly.